All the Little Things
by Burst.ofSILENCE
Summary: If only they took the time to work things out instead of avoiding the topic altogether, she wouldn't have been so irritated with him, and he wouldn't have been so worried about her. But no, they had to do it the hard way. Percy/Annabeth Post-TLH Oneshot


**Hello! I'm back with another Post-TLH oneshot. I came up with this after I read the Son of Neptune preview and saw that he remembered Annabeth. My initial reaction was: "OMFG HE REMEMBERS ANNABETH EEEEEE." Then I remembered how RR likes to screw with us sometimes and I end up thinking: "holyshit what if Percy only remembers the NAME Annabeth?" Hence, this little thing was born! Anyway, I wanted to post it before Son of Neptune comes out (Because the plot will totally get ruined once it does).**

**Speaking of SoN, OMG YOU GUYS IT'S BARELY THREE DAYS AWAY. We've been waiting for a year already and... and... words cannot explain. If you've got an advanced copy, I hate you (Not really, but my not-so-inner PJO-obsessed fangirl is getting pretty restless).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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><p><strong>All the Little Things<strong>  
><em>They're what make (and break) their relationship.<em>

The first thing she notices about him is his shoes.

They aren't anything new, just his usual worn and scruffy sneakers. But Annabeth can see small differences from when she last looked at them: a stain on the side of his left shoe, new scratches and scuff marks, dried mud on the soles, even a shallow cut on the heel of his right sneaker. Percy's shoes might've been the same ones he always wears, but they also bear signs of his latest adventure – an adventure that, for the first and only time, hadn't included her.

She swallows hard, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in her chest (Hurt? Betrayal? Jealousy? She doesn't know.). When she forces her eyes to look up, she finds him staring at her. Seeing his sea green eyes makes her smile slightly. His shoes may have changed, but his eyes haven't. Before she can tell him this, though, he speaks up.

"You're Annabeth, right?"

Suddenly, she wishes she hadn't looked away from his shoes in the first place.

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><p><em>She does<em>_n't know... She didn't think that he could—  
>(He promised she won't ever be alone again, didn't he?)<em>

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><p>"We will choose the best course of action to take once we land. For now, I suggest you all prepare yourselves. We may not be sure of what dangers await us in Greece, but expect to face a battle. That is all for now."<p>

After Chiron's briefing, Annabeth wordlessly stalks away from the conference room and heads for the upper deck of the Argo II. Once she reaches the stern side (a place where she knows she won't be disturbed), she plops herself down on the deck and leans against the wall.

As acting-leader for the Greek camp, the daughter of Athena needs to be strong. She needs to act composed even if something's bothering the hell out of her. Although, if she were to be honest, she doesn't know how long she can keep up this silly little charade, especially now that he's back.

'_You're Annabeth, right?'_

She still flinches every time that memory plays itself in her head. It's been three days since the moment he said it back at the Roman camp, and since then, Annabeth has barely thought of anything else. She had always considered the possibility that Percy has really forgotten everything; but now that that possibility is actually a reality and staring her in the face, she doesn't know how to deal with it _and_ the prophecy at the same time. Everything is suddenly so complicated and she's just too tired to handle any of it.

A scruffy pair of sneakers stops in front of her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hey."

'_Of all the people who could've found me…'_

She looks up, and Percy is standing there with a shy smile on his face. She gives him the briefest of smiles. "Hey."

He gestures to the floor beside her. "Can I sit?"

'_Hell no.' _She shrugs. He takes it as a yes and sits down.

For a while, neither of them speaks, but it isn't because they have nothing to say. To be honest, Annabeth wants to say a lot of things, ranging from '_I've missed you' _to '_Where the hell have you been?' _ But mostly, she wants to yell: '_How dare you forget me, you idiot.' _

As much as she'd love to verbally lash out at him, she knows she can't. They've got bigger concerns to take care of, what with the world about to end _again._ Fixing their messed-up relationship will have to wait.

She sighs heavily. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Percy staring at her.

"You look beat." He points out, and then adds: "When was the last time you took a break?"

'_Six months, three weeks, four days, and sixteen hours ago. In other words, around the time you disappeared.' _She shrugs again, her nose scrunching up a bit as she pretends to remember the last time she let herself rest.

"I slept about two days ago, I think." She replies, not looking at him. '_See? That wasn't a total lie.'_

He frowns. "You should take better care of yourself."

"I'm fine, Percy."

"Why don't you take a nap?"

"Because I don't need one."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Annabeth, go to sleep."

"No!"

"Stop being so stubborn about this!"

Before she can stop herself, Annabeth whips around to face him and bitingly retorts: 'Why do you care? You don't even know me."

Percy bristles. For a moment, it seems like he has something he really wants to say; Annabeth can see it clearly in his sea green eyes. (Now that she thinks about it, he's been giving her those looks a lot lately.) But, for some reason, he decides against it at the last moment. Instead, he sighs and awkwardly ruffles his hair.

"Look. It's just— it would make me... feel better... if I know you're wide awake when you go into battle." He manages to say.

'_Typical Percy.' _Even when he doesn't know her beyond knowing her name, he's still concerned about her wellbeing.

"…Fine." She eventually relents, making herself comfortable against the wall before Percy can object to her sleeping arrangements. "Wake me up if anything – _anything – _comes up." She tells him. When he finally nods, she closes her eyes and drifts off.

It isn't long before her even breathing tells Percy that she's fast asleep. At that moment, Percy allows himself to really look at her for the first time since they saw each other at the Roman camp.

He hadn't been joking when he told her she looked tired. To him, she looks like she hasn't properly functioned in a long time. Her fingernails have been bitten down to stubs, her blond curls are a tattered mess on her head, and dark bags deeply line her eyes. Unconsciously, his hand reaches out towards her. Annabeth relaxes against him as his fingers gently brush her cheek. Percy smiles sadly.

"I missed you, you know." He whispers.

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><p><em>She <em>_didn't think that he could— She doesn't know...  
>(But he remembers.)<em>

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><p>The first thing he notices about her is her smile.<p>

In his mind's eye, the name 'Annabeth' comes with the same golden princess curls, the same stormy grey eyes, and the same scrutinizing look as the girl beside him has. But the smile in his head is different from the one he sees on the girl. In his head, Annabeth's smile is radiant: completely unguarded, with her teeth showing and the right corner of her lips slightly lifting higher than the left. But the smile of the blonde beside him is tentative, flat _(no teeth showing, at all!) _and completely fake, like she's just forcing the corners of her mouth to lift up. It isn't anything like _his _Annabeth's.

Her smile is the entire reason he asked if she were Annabeth in the first place. Because the Annabeth he knows would never be caught dead with a half-assed smile like the one she's parading around. Percy knows that his memories aren't at their best right now, but he's undoubtedly sure of that. After all, for some reason or another, every memory he currently has somehow involves that 'Annabeth smile.'

Her head drops onto his shoulder, and when he turns to look at her face, that un-Annabeth smile isn't there. Instead, her face is smooth, peaceful – something he hasn't felt in a long time. (And he's willing to bargain that she hasn't felt that way in a long time, either.)

The new Hephaestus kid – Leo, Percy recalls – yells that they're ten minutes away from docking in Greece. He savours this moment with Annabeth for a short while longer before waking her up, knowing that she would kill him if he doesn't. Gently, he shakes her shoulder. Seconds later, she stirs and slowly opens her eyes.

In that instant, he finally sees _her_ – _his_ Annabeth, the one in his head – and he can't seem to look away. Her face is completely unguarded and, by the gods, he has always seen her as pretty but _wow_ she's _beautiful_up close—

He clears his throat awkwardly when he realizes that he's been staring. "Um, we're almost there." He finishes lamely.

"Oh." She stands up and stretches (Percy has to tear his eyes away from her to avoid looking like a creeper), looking at him afterwards. "Thanks."

She gives him that damned flat smile and just like that, her walls are back up. Percy sighs, feeling powerless as he watches her walk away from him.

Honestly? He just wishes she would smile at him like she used to.

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><p><strong>Review, please! I know this isn't my best work, but I love the idea and I wanna know what you guys think :) AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OCTOBER 4!<strong>


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